Finding A Way Out
by xoemilygrlxo
Summary: 'Somebody knows. You shouldn't act like there aren't any answers just because you haven't taken the time to look for them,' his voice was clear in my head as I walked up the familiar streets of Roseville. Cammie has been looking for answers on her own.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

'Somebody knows. You shouldn't act like there aren't any answers just because you haven't taken the time to look for them,' his voice was clear in my head as I walked up the familiar streets of Roseville. He was right, as always, someone knew, and there were answers out there. I've spent the last four and a half months looking for those answers, and now my search has brought me full circle, back to the very place I forced myself to leave at the end of my sophomore year. I passed by the gazebo where I had stood with two very different boys. My first boyfriend, Josh, and my…well I'm not sure what Zach was really. I'd spent almost a year trying to figure that out, and the same question still boggled my mind. Who was Zachary Goode really?

I continued up and down the streets of Roseville waiting for my signal. I wore a pair of jeans and a pull-over hoodie hiding my utility belt. My hair was hidden under a straight black wig, and green contacts hiding my eyes. I had even thrown on a pair of fake glasses that were at the bottom of my bag. Freckles were dotted around the bridge of my nose and I heard the chime of the church bell in town. Three-o-clock, it should almost be time. I pivoted on my right foot and continued back down the street I had come, nothing around me changed. A good sign, but not good enough.

I had been dreading this day for the past three weeks as the plan had been developed. I tried to find a way around it, but the truth was this is where I needed to be. More than anything I needed to find the journal of Matthew Morgan. The last time I had seen it I was handing it over to Zach. I don't think I've regretted anything more. I needed to find out what was in it that the Circle needed, because whatever was in there was a matter of National Security. My dad had information that they needed, what that is, well I'll figure that out when I get the journal back.

Two months after I left Gallagher I found the Circle's base in Paris. I'd like to say that I broke in and took them down, but that would be a lie. Truth is if I hadn't met Agent Jacobs I would have left France with as much as I had gone in with. Agent Jacobs was a CIA agent who had gotten inside the Circle. Problem was after being in deep for three years, he couldn't get out. Before I left France he was able to get me copies of some files the Circle had on my dad. Turns out they didn't know much more than me. They had captured him and he refused to talk. After that he bounced from jail cell to jail cell in numerous Circle bases all over the world. The last entry of his location was a base in Dayton, Ohio. That was two years ago. Naturally the first thing I wanted to do was get on a plane straight back to America and bust him out, but that wasn't possible, not yet.

The night I left Paris, Agent Jacobs gave me a coded message that had been sent from somewhere in Germany to the director of the Circle base in Paris. Fortunately after all the help he gave me, Agent Jacobs returned to his double life without anyone being the wiser. Unfortunately, he didn't know the code, and wasn't able to decode it. I've been trying to figure it out ever since with no success. I knew someone who could, someone who would be able to figure it out no problem. Liz Sutton. God, I missed her, Macey and Bex too. My mom, Courtney, Tina, Eva, Anna, Mick, even Zach. Okay, especially Zach. The thing is, being out there on my own all this time I had to learn the one rule we never learned in Cov. Ops., something no one ever thought to put in a text book, and something my mom never told me. Being a spy was lonely. I was truly on my own. Even though I knew that in the back of my head, I never knew how lonely I could be. I missed Sunday dinners with my mom in her office. I missed the meals I had in the dining hall that were prestigiously prepared. I missed Zach's smirk and the cryptic way he always talked to me. I missed my friends, Bex, Liz, and Macey. Most of all, I missed Gallagher, my home.

Well, now I was back, kind of. I was in Roseville, and when Agent Jacob's partner from CIA gives me the signal, I would start the walk to Gallagher. The plan was simple, get in, get what I need, and get out. There were two things I needed. My dad's journal and some way to crack the code in this note. I had no way of knowing where the journal would be, or if it was even here. Who knows what Zach could have done with it, but this was the last place I saw it, and the one place I knew better than anyone in the world. As for the code, if it can be cracked, Liz's code-cracker will crack it. Liz used to keep it in our room, I'm just hoping she hasn't moved it, and that I could get in and out of there without getting caught.

I turned a corner and saw a man walking up the street towards me. His head was down and it seemed he couldn't see where he was going. He bumped into me as we passed each other and he mumbled and apology as he kept walking, head down. I walked a little further before I shoved my hands in my pocket. I felt a piece of paper crumple that wasn't there before. I took the paper out and scanned the sheet. It was red and written with black ink it said:

'Good Luck'

I shoved the paper in my mouth and it dissolved within seconds. (Gotta love Evapopaper.) This was my signal, it was time. I followed the streets until I reached Gallagher. I walked by slowly and a guard eyed me as I walked. I gave the school my best impersonation of the Gallagher Glare and turned up my nose I as continued to walk. I walked another mile or so and walked into the trees for cover. I knew that there was a hole that I could just barely squeeze through. As I walked I thought about how much time I would have to get to the entrance of my favorite passageway. 57 seconds. It would be pushing it, but what choice did I have?

I came to the hole in the fence and I seriously thought about not going in, but the only way to find out why the Circle wanted me, and maybe even where my dad was, was to get in there. I took a deep breath and laid on the moist grass. I took another breath as I wiggled myself through the hole. I felt my arms and legs being scratched by the metal, but I kept going. Once my feet were through, I sprung to my feet and sprinted to the walls of my school. I found the entrance to the passage and ducked in. 48 seconds. Not bad. I smiled to myself as I felt along the wall. I came up behind the old tapestry and peeked out. Nothing. That was good, I hadn't set off any alarms, but I still wasn't safe. I never would be, not when I was surrounded by over 100 girls who were training to be spies. Plus the teachers who _were_ spies.

I waited for three minutes until I stepped out from behind the tapestry and walked down the hall to the East Wing which should be empty at this time of day. I walked in and froze. It should have been empty, except, it wasn't. Well, I guess it was, but it wouldn't be for long. I peered into the rooms that were equipped with beds and desks. Closets full of pants, shirts, and shoes. They were back. _Blackthorn was back!_ I continued down the hall and veered out another door that would take me through a wall and put me a few feet away from my room, or my old room. I was about to step into the passage when I stopped and turned around. Zach was here. He was at Gallagher and he could have the journal with him. I debated what to do. I had no other lead as to where the journal could be. I was about to turn around and figure out which room was his when I heard something behind me. Footsteps. Someone was coming and I didn't have time to hide.

"Wha-?" he looked confused. I smiled shyly at him and he narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, my friends didn't think I could get in here to…" I trailed off and mocked embarrassment. His expression softened, but only slightly.

"To…?" he prompted crossing his arms over his chest.

"To take a picture of Zach's room…" I looked at the floor, avoiding his eyes.

"Zach Goode?" he questioned trying to suppress a smile. I just nodded as he chuckled. "Look I'll help you out this once, but just so you know Zach's taken," he smiled when I looked up at him with horror in my eyes. This however was real horror. I mean, I know Zach and I weren't ever really together, but he…he kissed me multiple times, and he asked me to run away from the Circle _with _him.

"Really?" I whispered only half in control of my emotions.

"Yup, sorry. He's really hung up on her too from what Grant says," he shrugged and started walking when I didn't move he turned around looking at me. "Coming? Don't you have a picture to take?" I smiled weakly and followed him. "So what's your name? I haven't seen you in any of my classes."

"Cayla," I said without hesitation. I had a mission and Zach couldn't interfere. "I'm new here this year, I just started seventh grade."

He nodded and turned into one of the rooms. "Well snap your picture quick." I pushed some hair behind my ear and actually did snap a picture of the room. I sighed and was about to turn around when I heard him.

Zach. And Grant. Coming down the hall. I shot my 'tour guide' a worried look and he shrugged. I looked around desperately and looked back up at him. Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed this boy and kissed him. He was taken aback, but caught on and snaked his arms around my waist. He pushed me up against the wall. Ugh, he was enjoying this way too much. After an excruciating 27 seconds I heard someone clear their throat. I broke off thankful for the interruption. Grant and Zach were standing in the doorway. Zach looked disgusted and went to sit on his bed. Grant just looked amused. I avoided both their eyes and looked at the floor.

"Matt, you couldn't have waited until you got to your own room," Grant snorted.

"Sorry man. We'll get out of here," Matt said as he took my hand and led me out. He closed the door behind us and smiled. "You owe me," he said as his grip on my hand tightened and he led me into another room. He shut the door behind us and pushed me against the door.

"I have to get back to my friends, sorry," I tried to wiggle out of his arms, but his grip on me tightened. He smiled and started to lean down towards me. I so could not deal with this now. I used all my force to shove him off me, and before he could recompose himself I kicked him in the gut. Hard. While he was doubled over in pain I grabbed a napotine patch out of my utility belt and slapped it on his arm. I caught him as he fell and lugged him over to one of the beds then threw him on.

I peeked out the door into the hallway before slipping out the door. I heard muffled voices coming from Grant and Zach's slightly open door. I paused and tried to listen but couldn't really hear anything. I hurried to the wall at the end of the hallway when I remembered something. Before I went to Paris I was in Bosnia for a week and managed to swipe a mobile bug prototype from a guy involved in the black market. I found the part of the wall that slid in and out of place, slid it out of place and slipped into the wall. I closed it behind me and pulled the spider-like bug out and its remote. It had a mic and camera on it, and I could control it from up to two miles away. Once I had practiced maneuvering the bug I slid the wall open slightly and placed it on the floor. I directed it into the room and sat it down in a place where I could see both Grant and Zach. Then I just watched and listened.

"I just can't," I heard Zach say quietly.

"Please, this cannot be good for you. You have to stop thinking about it," Grant pleaded from his bed across the room.

"How can I? I have to know she's okay! If anything were to happen to her it would be my fault!" Zach turned to look at Grant with a murderous glare.

"How does that make sense?"

"It was my idea. I told her that the two of us should run together. That the Circle wouldn't kill us."

"Look, Cammie's no idiot. I'm sure she would have thought about it sooner or later," Grant said quietly walking over to Zach. He said something quietly to Zach but I wasn't listening. Me? He was worried about me? I cleared my head and tuned back in to hear Grant say, "Look, I told Jonas I would meet him in the library to work on some COW extra credit," Zach nodded and Grant walked out the door.

Before I could stop myself I slid open the wall and stepped out closing it behind me. I watched Grant walk out the door and around the corner. I ran to Zach's room. I stepped in and locked the door behind me. I took a breath before turning around and he was there, ready. He pinned me to the wall, a choke hold around my neck.

"Who are you? What do you want?" He asked angrily.

"Zach…" I started and I saw something in his eyes, recognition maybe, but it was gone in an instant.

"Answer me!" His hold on my neck tightened.

"Please," I choked out. His glare hardened and he started to reach for something in his pocket. I didn't give him a chance. In an instant my foot was on his chest and I kicked him off of me. He landed on his back, but was only down for a second before he jumped back up coming at me. "Wait!" I screamed and then I looked at him, "Give me one minute to explain," he looked at me and nodded. He moved towards the door blocking my way out. I took a deep breath and ripped off my wig. I let it fall to the floor and carefully took out my contacts. I sighed and turned to look at Zach. His expression was unreadable so I took a step towards him. "Zach…" I started but he cut me off.

"Cammie?" He whispered looking at me. I nodded and he frowned. "What the hell?" He came at me and pinned me to the wall again this time holding me by my arms. "Where have you been?"

"Um, around," I half smiled, when he continued to frown I dropped my voice to a whisper. "I can't really say."

"So what are you doing here?" he hissed.

"Look don't be mad, I had to do this. I had no option!" I said a little angry at him.

"No option? You could have stayed here! You could have been protected!"

"You and I both know that's not true," I whispered. I looked down and he continued to stare at me, dropping his arms from mine and brushing a piece of hair behind my ear. He was so close. I hadn't seen anyone n almost five months, and now here I was standing mere inches away, in a locked room, from a boy who had once asked me to run away with him.

"But you're back now?" he asked only slightly hopeful. I put a hand over his and left them both on my cheek. I looked at him and shook my head. "Then why?" he asked, hurt in his eyes.

"I need something from you."

"Really?" he said roughly pulling his hands away from me. "You disappear for almost five months, have everyone in the world looking for you, then you come back and tell me you need something from me?" he stalked across the room to the window. "Do even know what you've done? To Macey, Liz, and Bex? To your Mom?" he paused, "To me?" he said the last part in a whisper.

"Do you think that I don't think about that every day? Do you think I've just been on vacation for all this time? Please! Not one day has passed when I don't think about just giving up and coming back here. But you know what kept me going? My dad! Okay Zach? I need to find out what happened to him!" I was crying by the time I was done. It was all true. The only reason I didn't come back was because of my dad. I was so close to finding him.

"Gallagher Girl…" he said as walked towards me. He stopped about a foot away and put his hands in his pockets. "Please, it's not worth your life," he said, his gaze never leaving me.

"Excuse me?" my head snapped up and I took a step towards him. "Not worth it? He is my father. Even if he's dead, I need to know what happened."

"I know! Believe me, I know. I know what it's like to not know where your dad is. To not know what happened on that last mission. I know," his voice got quiet at the end. That was something Zach and I had in common. We both knew what it was like. We stood in silence until he looked back up into my eyes. "Please, just stay here. Stay here with me," he pleaded quietly taking one of my hands in his.

"I can't," I rubbed my thumb up and down the back of his hand, "if you don't want to help me, that's fine, I'll go."

I started to turn and pull my hand out of his, but his grip tightened on my hand. "What do you want from me?"

I turned back to him and looked into his eyes, those beautiful emerald green eyes that I had first seen in the elevator in DC. I looked down and took a deep breath and cleared all the emotion from my face before looking back into his eyes. "I need my dad's journal."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Cam," he trailed off.

"Zach, please. I need it, I might be able find him Zach," I felt the pleading in my eyes. "Please," I whispered.

His eyes never left mine as he started to shake his head. "Not gonna happen Gallagher Girl," he smirked. I knew that look all too well, he had a plan. A plan that almost definitely involved me staying here. I wish I could just stay here, but I'm so close. Close to knowing about my Dad, close to knowing why the circle is after me. I can't just give up.

"Zach," I trailed off. What could I say, what could I possibly say to make Zachary Goode do something he didn't want to? I looked down at our feet and pulled my hand out of his, "Fine, goodbye Zach," I started towards the door, but in a flash he was blocking my way out and I almost walked right into him. Our toes were barley touching and I looked up to his smirking face. I stood my ground, ignoring the guilt in my gut, and glared at him. Fortunately, I go, or went, to a spy school, so I have had much experience in making my face show only the emotions I want it to, and in lying as a whole, and can easily fool most boys. Unfortunately, the boy I happened to be trying to fool also goes to a spy school, and can see through my charade.

His face softened and I felt his arms snake around my waist. I tried to pull against him, but his grip on me was too tight, and I gave in, letting him pull me closer to him. He brought his head down so close to mine that I thought he might kiss me, but instead he stopped just inches away from me and whispered, "Think about your friends Gallagher Girl. They'd be so happy you're back. Your mom. Even Mr. Solomon."

"What? He's…he's okay?" He didn't answer, he just kept staring at me. "Zach, is Mr. Solomon alive? Did he wake up?"

He sighed, "It's complicated."

"Well, uncomplicated it."

"Everyone still thinks he's COC, so when he woke up they took him away," he paused and I waited for him to go on, "I haven't seen him in almost four months."

I did the math in my head, "He woke up a week after I left?" I choked out. Zach nodded. "Where are they keeping him?"

"I don't know. I haven't been able to find him, I'm still looking."

I can't believe this, if I had only waited a little longer I could have said goodbye, but, had I waited a little longer the Circle could have found me. Timing is a tricky thing, sometimes you make it and sometimes you don't. My thoughts were interrupted by voices outside the door. Both mine and Zach's heads snapped up. "Zach, I need to go."

"No. You don't. You're here now, you're safe."

I shook my head, "No, that's the thing, I'll never be safe. I have to keep moving, running."

There was a pause and Zach stared into my eyes, I tried not to break eye contact, but I felt my eyes drop to the floor. His hand unwound from around my waist and came up gently under my chin, forcing me to look at him. "The journal is here."

"Please tell me where," I begged.

"Stay with me."

"I already told you I can't."

"Just tonight, I'll give you the journal tomorrow morning and you can leave then," he proposed. Stay with him for the night? What did he mean by that? Did he mean stay for the night, or _stay_ for the night. I looked at him, I would love nothing more than to spend the night with him, and danger or not I answered before I had time to second guess myself.

"Okay."

He smiled, a genuine smile, and he leaned his head down, closing the distance between the two of us. When his lips met mine it felt so right, like home. All the distance that had separated us these past few months was gone and for a minute it almost seemed like I had never left. He started to pull away and I realized how much I had really missed him. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him back down to me refusing to let him go. I heard him chuckle as he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. I don't know how long we stood there against the door kissing each other, but it seemed too soon when we finally broke apart, breathless.

"Grant will be back soon," Zach whispered pulling me closer to him.

"Too bad," I cocked my head to the side and grinned.

"C'mon," he said taking my hand. I looked at him questioningly and he just shook his head. He cracked the door open and peeked his head out the door, presumably checking to see if anyone was out there. Without looking back at me he started to walk out the door, pulling me behind him. I followed and whipped my head around the hallway when I got out. I knew that all it took was for someone to walk around the corner and recognize me. Zach must have sensed my anxiety, "Calm down Gallagher Girl. No one's coming for a little while."

I decided to trust him and took a deep breath, following him further down the hallway. We approached secret passage that I had just come out of and he moved the piece of wall out of place, motioning for me to go in first. I stepped all the way in and Zach followed, closing the wall behind him. He turned to face me and the two of us just stood there looking at each other for about a minute until I was tired of being patient.

"So, where to?" I asked quietly.

"You tell me," he replied, his eyes bright.

"What?"

"I thought no one in the world knew these passages better than you," he smirked, "there's got to be somewhere we can go to talk."

"Zach, I've been gone," his eyes darkened at this, but other than that there was no evidence that what I said had affected him, "they could have changed things, or made new security adjustments to keep the Circle out."

"I doubt it."

"What are you—"

"Everyone thinks you're coming back. They've been hoping for weeks now that you'd use the passageways to get back into Gallagher. So trust me, they wouldn't change anything."

"New security?" I challenged.

"It's possible. We'll just have to be careful," he winked at me as I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, I think I know where we can go."

"Thought you might," he smirked as I led the way.

We twisted through the walls of the school quietly and unnoticed. I walked in front and could here Zach walking about a foot behind me, but I didn't look back at him and neither of us said anything to each other. After what seemed like hours of walking, we finally reached the place I wanted to take Zach. I put my hands against the wall, feeling around for the loose brick that, when moved, would open the wall giving someone enough space to crawl through. I was about to pull the brick out when I stopped. I had never shared this room with anyone, not even my best friends. I knew for sure that no one knew that this room existed. So then why was I hesitating? I looked back at Zach and he raised an eyebrow at me, obviously confused. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; did I really want him to be the first person I ever bring here? I honestly couldn't answer I was still contemplating what to do when I felt a hand on my arm. I looked into Zach's questioning gaze.

"Cammie?" he whispered.

I shook my head, "I'm fine," I whispered back. I cleared my head, of course I could bring him here. It was just a room, there are plenty of those at Gallagher. I could find a new one. I pulled the brick out and a small opening appeared below us. I nodded at Zach to go. He dropped to his hands and knees and crawled through. I took a deep breath and dropped down following him though. Once I made it through, I replaced the brick in the hole on that side of the wall and the rest of the bricks slid back into place. I turned around to see Zach wandering around the room.

The room wasn't big, in fact, it was pretty small. It was more like a large closet rather than a room, but it had old furnishings that suggest it had been some sort of sitting room at some point. There was a large window taking up most of the wall on the south side. It had a view of the forest and onto campus, but there was so much dirt and dust caked on the glass that it was near impossible to see anything other than the blur of greens and browns that were the trees and grass. The wall adjacent to the window was home to a small faded couch. The color of the couch was most likely once a dark red, or maybe a purple. Next to the couch was a small table, a few scattered pieces of paper on it. I wandered over to the table and picked up the papers. They were my own handwriting, some study guide I had written up for one of Dr. Fibs' tests. On the wall across from the window sat an old wooden chair that looked like it would collapse under the weight of the next person who sat down.

I walked over to the window where Zach was standing. I looked out the window and saw blurred figures moving around below us. I watched and tears began to form in my eyes. I tried to hold them in, but they began to silently roll down my face. Zach turned to me, when he saw the tears he looked worried.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I just want this all to be over," I choked out, hugging myself.

"It will be," he wrapped his arms around me and I buried my head into his chest. He rested his chin on the top of my head and rubbed my back. I pulled away from him and took a step back. I nodded and sniffled.

"Yeah, sorry about that, it's been a while since I've been around anyone."

He just nodded, his eyes staying on mine until he turned around and sat on the couch. "Its fine," there was more silence.

After looking at each other in silence for a few minutes I realized how stupid I was for coming here with Zach. I was on the run from the Circle of Cavan, a terrorist group with a price on my head. I couldn't afford to waste time with some boy. I had a mission to complete and I had let some boy distract me from it, again. I should have left that room without a second thought, but I couldn't. Something was keeping me there. I had to go though.

"Zach, this was a mistake. I have to go," I fumbled for the loose brick as tears gathered in my eyes. Just as I was about to pull the brick free, I felt a strong hand on top of mine push it back in.

"Cammie, please. No one is going to find us. You'll be fine for one night, and—"

"And what," I cut him off, "tomorrow morning you're just going to give me the journal and let me walk out of here, not knowing where I'm going or if I'll be okay?" my voice was rising and he cast his eyes down, "Yeah right Zach," I forced a laugh and gave him an icy stare.

He stayed where he was but started talking. "Gallagher Girl, of course I don't want you to go, but in the end it's your choice. I can't keep you locked up. It would be nice to be able to know that for one night though you'd be safe," he looked up and me and I didn't respond. We kept staring at each other. He was my only way to the journal, but if I stayed, would I be able to make myself leave again? Even if I could, would he really let me? "C'mon Gallagher Girl, don't you trust me?" he smirked.

"What kind of spy would I be if I did?" I took a page from his book and smirked back at him. I pulled the brick out and just before dashing into the newly open space I glanced over my shoulder to see Zach staring after me, hurt evident on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns Gallagher Girls.

I moved as fast as I could through the walls of Gallagher. If I couldn't get the journal from Zach then I would have to find it on my own, but first, I had a message to de-code. Tears stung my eyes as I pushed open a wooden door that led me into a cramped hallway. It was so small that my shoulders didn't fit walking forward; I had to move using a side step. After a few more minutes down this passage I stopped and looked back, then forward again. Where was I? I had never been through this passage before. _Great, I have Zach on my tail, and a limited amount of time, and I choose now to find a new passageway?_ I wiped the tears that were blurring my vision and decided to continue in the direction I was going. After another three minutes of walking, the passage ended. No doors or turns to take me to another part of the mansion just an end. _Great! _What a waste of time.

I was about to turn and go back when I heard muffled voices on the other side of the wall. I tried to listen, but the wall was just a little too thick. I looked around for any sort of opening in the wall, when I found it. There was a metal knob a few inches lower than my eye level. I felt the wall around it and realized it was a peep-hole that could be slid in and out of place. I slowly slid it back surprised that it didn't make any noise and looked to see where I was.

When I looked into the room I almost fainted. I was staring into my old room, the one I shared with Macey, Bex and Liz. I couldn't believe it, after all these years wandering around the mansion I had never found the secret passage that would enable someone to spy on my roommates and me. I took a deep breath and looked around the room. Macey was sitting on her bed flipping through the latest issue of Vogue, and the sink in the bathroom was running. I took a deep breath, trying to control the tears that were threatening to spill onto my cheeks. I hadn't seen any of my friends in so long, and now here they were, only a few feet in front of me. I wanted nothing more than to run out of this passage and into the room, but I still had a mission, and until it was complete, my friends couldn't know I was anywhere near Gallagher.

The bathroom door swinging open pulled me out of my thoughts, and I looked over to where Bex was standing in the door way of the bathroom. She looked just as beautiful as I had remembered, but there was something different about her. I studied her for a little while longer and I noticed that the usual glow of her skin was no longer present, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was still gorgeous, but slightly out of control, as if she hadn't taken the time to thoroughly brush it that morning. In general she just looked very tired and slightly out of it. I looked over to see if Macey was suffering the same fate, maybe the Gallagher work load was particularly heavy right now. When I looked over to Macey, she was wearing her hair in a messy bun and pieces of hair were falling out around her face. She too had dark circles under her eyes, and her posture was more slumped than usual. My friends both looked worn. It wasn't a major change, something you would only notice if you knew them well, and obviously, I did.

"Hey, Mace," Bex said to Macey across the room, but Macey didn't look up from her magazine. "Mace! MACEY!" Bex yelled.

Macey finally looked up from her magazine looking a little dazed, "What?"

"Let's go to dinner."

Macey thought about it for a second and then nodded. She got out of her bed and put her magazine down where she had been sitting. "What about Liz?" she questioned.

"She's in the library. We can grab her on our way to the Dining Hall."

Macey nodded and followed Bex out the door. I stood there looking at the closed door with tears in my eyes. I missed them so much, if only they knew. I turned and leaned my back against the door and started to slump down. I was almost all the way to the ground when my back hit something.

"Oww!" I clamped my hand over my mouth when I realized how loud that had been. I quickly turned feeling the wall in the dark until I found what I had hit. It felt like a door knob. _But, it couldn't be. There can't be a door here. I would have found it years ago. _I twisted the knob and pulled it towards me, and a square of the wall came with it. I gasped when the opening put me in the room. I couldn't believe this. I stepped through and looked around. Not much had changed, except for the fact that there was an empty bed, and a quarter of the possessions in the room were missing. In short, the only difference was me, or the lack of me. I sighed and refocused on the task at hand. I had to de-code this message and I didn't know how long I had. I quickly ran over to Liz's desk where the code-cracker sat. I pulled the piece of paper out of the waist band of my jeans and fed it to the machine. It began making noises and while I waited I wandered around the room.

I walked over to Macey's closet and began to browse through her wardrobe. Most of the clothing were pieces I had never seen before; she obviously had done a lot of shopping over the summer. I walked over to Bex's desk and carefully picked up a piece of her stationary. I scanned the page to discover it was a page from and essay of hers written in Farsi about the possibility of a nuclear war breaking out between North Korea and America. I put the paper down and was about to walk away when I noticed a small book crammed into the space between her desk and the wall. I bent down and pulled the book out and began to flip through the pages. It was a journal that Bex was keeping. I flipped to the most recent entry, it was written three days ago.

_It's been just a little over four months, and still no word. The last we heard of Cammie was the note she left telling everyone she was leaving. I've been trying not to think about it, but I can't help it. I started this journal with a promise that I would not write about her, or how much I miss her, but today is the exception. Today is Cammie's birthday, the first one in a long time that I haven't spent with her. I spent most of the day thinking about the day she left. After we found the note, all hell broke loose. Mrs. Morgan was a wreck. She left the mansion, Macey, Liz, and I tried to tag along, but that was pointless. I still don't know where she went. My guess is to Langley, to demand that a search party to be sent out for her only daughter. The entire summer was spent in confusion and havoc looking for her, but I knew they wouldn't find her. Cammie is the Chameleon for a reason. She's the best pavement artist of our generation, and now that she was off the radar, there was no way she would be found unless she gave herself up. _

_For whatever reason Mum, Dad, and Mrs. Morgan all think I know where she went. Believe me, if I knew that girl would be as good as dead. All I know is she wants answers and I can guarantee that is what she went out looking for. All summer Mum, Dad, and I bounced from country to country. Sometimes staying in safe houses, other times staying with friends of Mum and Dad, and every once in a while we actually stayed in a hotel. Mum told me we were vacationing. Dad said we were seeing the world together. Really we were looking for Cammie. Half way through the summer Mum was given a mission and Dad had some 'official MI6 business' to take care of, so I spent about three weeks with Macey and Liz in one of Macey's numerous summer homes. We tried brainstorming ideas as to where Cammie could be, but after days, we were pretty much where we started. _

_When we finally returned to Gallagher, everyone was holding their breath to see if Cammie would come back, but we were all disappointed. The girls in our class sat around the table quietly, knowing that our number had been reduced by one. No one talked through that meal. Not even Tina had any news from her sources about Cammie, and everyone was worried, thinking the worst. I knew I couldn't think like that, so for the past few months I have been telling myself that Cammie is fine. She is a great spy, she's strong, and she can take care of herself. I still worry though. I'm not as focused on my work, and at night I roll around in bed instead of sleeping. _

_Talking about Cammie has become taboo around Macey, Liz, or I, we just can't deal with it. Today was the exception though. We were all sitting silently in our room when Liz started to talk. "Remember that time Cammie flipped me off the bunk because she thought I was an intruder?" We all shared a sad look before laughing at the memory. We continued talking about Cammie until we started to get tired. Macey and Liz are both asleep and I should be also, but I can't help but think about her. Cammie has been gone for a long time. I'm beginning to think about the bad things that could have happened to her. I can't stop myself from thinking she may never come home to us again. _

I looked up from the book, tears falling freely down my face. How could I do this to them? I was an awful person. I kept thinking about what I was doing to my friends and my mother. I was thinking about how different their lives were because of me when I heard a beep. I jumped and looked around, I didn't see anything and then I heard it again. I looked over to the code-cracker and realized that it was done, it had de-coded the message. I ran to the machine and took the papers, folding them up and shoving them back into the waistband of my jeans. I had finished half of my mission. All I needed now was the journal, but where could it possibly be? I heard voices outside the door and knew I had to get out of this room. My friends could be back any minute. I dashed over to the newly opened hole in the wall and stepped out of the room. I carefully pushed the piece of wall back into place and slid the peep hole closed.

I turned back and started in the way I had come and moved through the walls until I recognized my surroundings. I looked around and realized I had to make a decision. If I went left I could get out of Gallagher through a tunnel that would put me in the middle of the forest. I could run away from here and continue my search for answers without the journal. My other option is to go right. If I went right I could climb a ladder up into the library and search in there for the journal. The journal could give me the answers I needed, like why the Circle was after me. I stood there a moment longer and knew which way I had to go. I turned left and sprinted through the school until the passageway turned into a dimly lit tunnel. I sprinted through the tunnel until it opened up revealing that I was surrounded by trees. I stopped and looked back at Gallagher, my home, and knew that this wasn't truly goodbye. I would be back.

I walked through the trees until I found a place where the fence was short enough to easily jump over. I cleared the fence and walked another mile or so into the town of Roseville. I reached for my wig and sunglasses only to realize that they were on the floor of Zach's room. I mentally smacked myself for leaving them there and headed to a store in town where I could at least buy sunglasses and a hat, the wig would have to wait until I got somewhere a little more main-stream.

I walked into a store called 'A Little Bit of NYC' and a bell chimed as the door swung inward. I walked over to a hat display while looking around the store for someone. I didn't see anyone in the store, not even an employee, which seemed odd. Odd was never a good thing in my business. I continued through the store not really looking at any inventory, more listening for a sign of some company. I got to the hats and pulled one off the rack, trying it on. I turned to face the mirror, still on my toes, and studied myself in the hat. It was a floppy beach hat that covered most of my face, which was going to have to cut it for now. I took off the hat and looked at it. It was a bright yellow and there was a purple flower on the side. It was definitely something that would attract attention, which in my case was a good thing. No one looking for me would expect me to stand out, which is exactly why I should.

I made my way over to a display of sunglasses when I heard a noise in the back. It sounded like something was dropped.

"Shit!" I heard from the back. I reached for the gun that was in the utility belt hidden under my hoodie and slowly made my way around the corner. I quickly rounded the corner and saw a girl standing over a box that was lying on its side, its contents all over the floor. She jumped around when she heard me enter. "Oh my God! Oh, sorry, you scared me."

"Oh, sorry about that," I looked around her at the spilled box, "Do you want some help?"

"No that's okay. Thanks though," she looked at me again and realization flashed through her eyes."Oh, wow I'm so sorry. I didn't hear you come in. Do you need help finding anything, or something?"

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"Okay, I'll come out in case you need anything."

I nodded and turned around heading back out into the store. I removed my hand from my gun reluctantly. I went back to the sunglasses and picked a pair of Ray Ban knock-offs. I walked up to the girl at the counter and handed her the hat and sunglasses. She smiled and scanned the bar code of the two items.

"Okay, that's forty-two-fifty." I pulled three twenties out of my pocket and handed them to her. She handed me my change after a few seconds of rummaging through the cash register. "Thank you, and have a nice day!"she said cheerily.

I was about to walk away when I thought of something. "Hey, do you have a rubber band?"

"Uh, yea," she opened a drawer and pulled out a rubber band, "here you go."

"Thanks."

"No problem!"

I walked out of the store with the bag in my hand. I looped the handle of the bag around my arm as I gathered all of my hair into a tight bun and the nape of my neck. Once the bun was secure with the rubber band, I pulled the hat out of the bag and threw it on my head. With my hair in the bun you really couldn't see any of it, which, I guess, was the next best thing to a wig. I then pulled out the sunglasses and slipped them on my face. I crumpled the plastic bag into a ball and threw it in the next trash can I passed.

_Okay, now what? _I realized I had no clue where to go next, or how to get there. I had set up a sort of base in New York last month. I could go there. That's when I remembered the message. I walked to a bench and sat down. I looked around. There were two young boys running up the street laughing, a couple was sitting on the fountain holding hands and smiling, a mother and daughter were walking down the street hand-in-hand, a shopping bag in each of their hands, and two girls who looked about my age were sitting giggling on a bench across the street. Everything looked normal, so I pulled the papers out of my waistband. I took a deep breath and looked down at the paper on top.

_Everything is going well on our part. The Director sent word our way that Morgan was in Paris. We sent agents last week; they have reported that so far, nothing. If she's there she's hiding well. I was told to keep you posted, which is why I send this. The last thing, the Shadow has successfully infiltrated Gallagher once again. The Director assures me that this time he will find, and steal, the alumni list. My patience is wearing thin with her, but she has too much power right now. That might need to change. -Moon _

I couldn't believe this, they had come close to finding me, but more importantly, someone had gotten into Gallagher. They were after the alumni disc, but what could I do? I couldn't go back, but as a Gallagher Girl it was my responsibility to protect my sisters. I knew I was being selfish, but I couldn't go back, not yet. My sisters were strong, they wouldn't give the disc up without a fight. I sighed and shoved the paper back into my waistband, standing up. I had to be more careful, I could not get caught, especially by the enemy. I started walking down the street, but something felt wrong. I glanced into the display window of the store I was passing and checked the reflection behind me. I had a tail.

I switched into spy mode as I continued up the street. I walked to a major road and pulled my cell phone out, dialing the number a taxi company. I walked around a corner and sat on a bench as I waited for my taxi. I looked around and didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean anything. The taxi pulled up in front of me and I walked to the car, climbing into the backseat. The driver looked at me in the rearview mirror.

"Richmond International Airport please." The driver nodded and we moved forward. I tensed and looked in the rearview mirror, no one was behind us. I relaxed, but only slightly. I rested my head on the window and looked up. I didn't see any helicopters or planes in the area, but I knew losing my tail wouldn't be that easy. I settled into my seat for the rest of the ride. As we neared the airport a few cars were trailing behind the taxi, and all stopped in the drop-off lane in front of the main entrance to the airport. I pulled money out of my pocket and paid the driver. I stepped out of the car and watched the driver pull away.

I walked into the airport and bought a ticket to New York, paying in cash, virtually the only untraceable means of payment. I had no bags to check, but I had to ditch my gun and other assorted weapons before heading to security. Truth is, I probably could have gotten the knife and maybe even the gun through, but frankly, I was tired and didn't have much time. I went to the bathroom and entered a stall. I pulled off my hoodie and pulled my gun, pocket knife, and tazer out of my utility belt. I took the batteries out of the tazer and bullets out of the gun and flushed them down the toilet. I then pulled the paper bag out of the tampon disposal bin and threw the gun and tazer in. I placed the pocket knife back into my utility belt and left the stall. I threw the bag into the garbage and then washed my hands, throwing the soiled paper towels on top of the bag.

I headed to security and put my sunglasses and hat onto the moving belt and stood behind a man who was impatiently waiting to go through the metal detector. He went through and collected his things on the other side. The guard motioned for me to go through and I beeped.

"Miss, make sure your pockets are empty, and that you're not wearing any kind of metal jewelry."

"Okay," I stepped back pretending to check myself for any metal, then I pulled out my pocket knife and mocked shock. "Oh my God! I totally forgot to give this back to my dad when I got out of the car!"

"You're going to have to leave it behind, miss," the guard said to me.

"Well, okay. Ugh, my dad is going to kill me!" I rolled my eyes in frustration as I stepped through the metal detector once again.

"Okay, you're good."

"Thanks so much!" I grabbed my hat and sunglasses putting the hat and slipping the sunglasses into my pocket. I walked to my gate where the plane was boarding. I handed the woman at the desk my ticket and found my seat. There were four seats per row, two on each side of the aisle. My seat was by the window. I silently prayed that there would be no one sitting in the seat next to me, but as I finished my prayer, a blond haired woman plopped into the seat. She was wearing a black Juicy sweat suit and had her straight platinum blonde hair pulled into a high pony tail. She shoved a small blue bag under the seat in front of her, when she was done she sat up and turned to me.

"Now Cammie, why is it you're going to New York?"

**AN: Hey so what so what do you think of the story so far? I'm not really getting any reviews, so I don't know what people think of the story. Should I continue? Do you have any ideas? I have a pretty good idea for where the story is going, but I'm open for changes. So review, make my day!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Ally Carter owns Gallagher Girls.

_Last Chapter: I silently prayed that there would be no one sitting in the seat next to me, but as I finished my prayer, a blond haired woman plopped into the seat. She was wearing a black Juicy sweat suit and had her straight platinum blonde hair pulled into a high pony tail. She shoved a small blue bag under the seat in front of her, when she was done she sat up and turned to me. _

"_Now Cammie, why is it you're going to New York?"_

My mouth fell open and my eyes bugged out in shock. I quickly recomposed myself, it's never a good thing for a spy to be surprised, let alone show it. I sat just staring at the girl who I had known for so many years, she was just glaring at me.

"Bex, what the hell are you doing here?" I could not believe she followed me. I didn't want to drag anyone else into this.

"Cammie, the better question is where have you been? Do you know how worried everyone's been? We spent the whole summer looking for you! People think you are dead!"

She whispered her whole speech to me at a volume that no one but me could hear, but if anything it was more menacing that way. I cast my eyes down and felt tears begin to gather in the back of my eyes. She didn't reach for me or try to comfort me. Instead she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and readjusted in her seat to face forward. _She had every right to be mad at me. I deserve this._ Even though I knew it was true I desperately wished it wasn't. Bex was my best friend, where would I be without her? I wiped the tears off my face and looked at her. After studying her closely I realized that the blonde hair was a wig and that her outfit and bag look like something Macey would have in her closet.

"Bex," she crossed her arms over her chest but other than that made no sign that she had heard me, "please," I whispered, my voice husky, "please don't do this."

"Do what?" she asked not even looking at me.

"You know what," I said my voice rising a little. "Don't be an idiot, get off this plane, don't follow me."

"You're kidding right?" she almost yelled. "Leave you? After I have been crazy worrying about you? Get off the plane? After I thought you were dead?" her voice caught in her throat on the last word, but she took a breath and continued. "Not going to happen."

"Bex, if anything were to happen to you…"

"It would be my fault," she cut me off. "It was my choice to follow you."

I sighed, there was no way Rebecca Baxter's mind would be changed once she had made it up. I really wish she had just let me go, but more than anything I wish she would talk to me like her best friend, instead of someone who she has been trying to track for four months. I put my head back and tried to sleep. I closed my eyes and faded away into the sanctuary of slumber.

When I woke up Bex was staring at me. I caught her eyes and she looked down at her hands. "I missed you Cam," she whispered so quietly that I'm not sure it was meant for me to hear. I was about to tell her the same when she continued. "Why did you do that to me? I thought I would never see you again."

"Bex, c'mon. You know why. I had, and still have, a terrorist group on my tail. Not only did I need answers, I needed to make sure everyone I loved was safe."

She looked at me for a while before speaking. "Were you even planning on coming back?" she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper and cast her eyes down at her hands.

"Bex…" I trailed off not really knowing the answer to that question myself.

"Answer it!"

"I don't know. I wanted to, every single day. I thought about you and Macey and Liz, my mom, everyone. I wanted so much to be able to just give up and go home, to be with you guys again."

"Well, why didn't you? You know we could have kept you safe!" her accent was thick as she accused me.

"But at what cost?" I looked her in the eye.

"It would have been worth it!" she glared at me.

"Would it be worth it if someone were to die because of me?" I challenged. Bex was silent, the conflict evident in her eyes. She didn't want anything to happen to me, but she knew that if someone were to get hurt that we would only have ourselves to blame. She looked down, tears forming in her eyes. "Bex," I tried softly. I put a hand under her chin and forced her to look me in the eye. "Rebecca Baxter, look at me!" she sniffled and looked up. "Bex, I'm sorry I left, and I'm sorry for what I did to you guys, but I felt like I had no other choice. You know I love you guys and I only wanted to protect you." She smiled at me and punched my arm. Hard. "Ouch! Bex, what the hell?"

"That," she paused, "was for leaving. And this," she pulled me into a bear hug across the arm rest, "is for coming back in one piece. I love you Cams."

I threw my arms around her neck and squeezed her back. After we finished hugging we sat back in our seats and held idle small talk for about half an hour, both of us to afraid to ask anything meaningful, worried that the other might break. I guess thirty-seven minutes is when Bex draws the line. "So, uh, Cammie, what were you doing at Gallagher?"

"I needed something from Zach, and I had to, um, decode an intercepted message," my voice fell on the last part.

"How did you decode the message?" she asked, but I had a feeling she already knew.

"I used Liz's code cracker."

Bex was quiet. I don't know if she was mad at me or simply contemplating what I had said. I was worried that we would get into another fight when she said, "So, what did the message say?"

I looked at my best friend. _Should I tell her? Would she accuse me of betraying my sisters by not going back?_ I finally decided that she deserved to know, but not here. "Let's wait until we get to where we're going," I whispered just loudly enough for her to hear. She raised an eyebrow, but other than that accepted my answer for now.

"So where is that exactly?" Bex questioned looking at me.

"You'll see," I smiled at her.

She looked frustrated and slumped back into her seat. We sat in silence for ten minutes. Bex fiddled with the strings on her jacket and turned the over-head light on and off. She seemed anxious for some reason. I slowly swept my view around the plane, suddenly tense. _What had made my friend so nervous?_ I turned and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A mother was holding a sleeping baby in her arms, her hair falling out of a loose pony tail around her face, and something that looked like baby food smeared on her right cheek. There were two older men wearing suits arguing about the stocks, a child snoring on her father's shoulder, and a woman who was almost done with her book. I didn't, however, see anything that could have upset my friend. I turned back around and looked at Bex.

"Bex, what is it?"

She avoided my eyes and took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, to be honest Cam, I didn't know you were at Gallagher today. Zach told me," I was about to say something, maybe an explanation, when she continued, "He told me that you needed help. I don't really know why he didn't follow you himself, but I guess I'm glad he didn't." I sat there for a minute. Why _would Zach send Bex? Didn't he say _he_ wanted me safe?_ It didn't make sense to me. "Cammie," Bex's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, "there's one more thing," I looked at her expectantly. "Before I left Zach gave me something. He made me swear not to open it, but to give it to you right away. He said you needed it." Bex bent down and shuffled around in her bag for a few seconds before coming back up with a wrapped parcel in her hands. "Here," she whispered handing me the package.

I gingerly took it from her. It wasn't very heavy, maybe a pound. It was a rectangle, whatever it was was probably in a box. It was wrapped in brown paper and white twine string wrapped around it. An envelope sat on top of the paper, tied under the string. I pulled off the string and picked up the envelope ripping open the seal. I pulled out a piece of evapopaper with a note written on it.

_Gallagher Girl,_

_ Your welcome._

_ -Z_

_ P.S. Be careful. _

I took a deep breath as I pushed the note, envelope and all, into my sweatshirt pocket. I pulled the brown paper back and gasped at what I saw.

**AN: Sorry about the little cliffy ending! Also I'm really sorry this is so short, I've had a crazy week at school, but if I get 5 review on this chapter I promise that the next one will be SUPER long! **

**So just to be clear, that's 5 reviews! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry this took so long! **

_Last Chapter:_ _I gingerly took it from her. It wasn't very heavy, maybe a pound. It was a rectangle, whatever it was, was probably in a box. It was wrapped in brown paper and white twine string wrapped around it. An envelope sat on top of the paper, tied under the string. I pulled off the string and picked up the envelope ripping open the seal. I pulled out a piece of evapopaper with a note written on it. _

_ Gallagher Girl,_

_ Your welcome._

_ -Z_

_ P.S. Be careful. _

_I took a deep breath as I pushed the note, envelope and all, into my sweatshirt pocket. I pulled the brown paper back and gasped at what I saw. _

My father's journal, I couldn't believe that after what I had done to him he would still try to help me. I just stared at the book sitting on my lap, too afraid to touch it for the fear that it may disappear under my touch. _Don't be an idiot Cam. _I shook the thoughts in my head away and wrapped the book back into the brown paper and put it into my sweatshirt pocket. Bex looked at me with a questioning gaze. I just smiled and mouthed 'later' she nodded and pulled an I-pod out of her, or more likely, Macey's, bag and shoved the ear buds into her ear, blasting the music. I heard the soft mummer of the music as I sighed and looked at the window. After ten minutes the flight attendant's voice came over the intercom.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts; we are beginning our decent into the JFK airport," at the soft-spoken words of the flight attendant I clicked my seatbelt into place and watched as Bex, and most other passengers on the plain, did the same.

Bex listened to her music and I looked out the window for the rest of the flight, deep in thought. _Who is Shadow? _That was the question that had been haunting my mind since I read the decoded note back in Roseville. If I could figure out who he was I could just get rid of him, problem solved. Except I have no idea where to begin looking for information about him. This lead to another decision I would have to make. What do I look for now? My dad or Shadow? The answer to that was a struggle because it wasn't just anyone I was trying to find, it was the person who was trying to take down my sisterhood. Would I really be so selfish as to put my father over my sisterhood? I sighed and looked out the window. I knew deep in my heart the answer to that question: yes. Yes, I would risk anything to find my father, especially after coming this close to finding him. I would let nothing stand in my way.

I was snapped back to my seat next to Bex on the plane when she snored loudly and rolled her head onto my shoulder. I chuckled to myself as I pulled a discarded blanket over her shoulders. This girl could fall asleep _anywhere. _As I settled down into my seat to wait out the rest of the descent, a feeling of dread suddenly dropped into my stomach. I tried to calm myself as my body stiffened and my breath hitched. I tried to relax so as not to wake Bex, but that became impossible when I felt the telltale shivers run up my spine. I carefully turned my head a fraction of an inch to the side and swept the plane, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The woman who had been reading had since finished her book and was now resting her head on the back of her seat with her eyes closed, the young girl had fallen and was now lying across her sleeping father's lap, and the exhausted looking woman had passed her child into the arms of her husband and had cleaned herself up a bit before leaning back and taking a few precious minutes of sleep for herself. Yes, everything seemed fine, but then why were my senses on high alert. I continued looking through the plane with my peripheral vision when it finally hit me, the two men who had been calming talking less than an hour ago were now gone. I continued to search the plane, but now I hunted only for them. Both had on expensive suits, and had a similar build, not huge, but definitely stronger than your average stock-broker. I became desperate looking for a glimpse of the shocking red hair of the taller man that really should have been somewhat of a giveaway, or a flash of the dazzling blue eyes on his companion, eyes that you would definitely notice in a crowd. Yes, I continued to search, but it was in vain, they were gone. It wasn't just their bodies that had mysteriously disappeared, but also their small carry-on bags that had previously been precariously tucked away under the seats in front of them.

I continued to try and figure out where they could have gone. I mean really, we were on a plane! Finally, the impact of our arrival shook me violently back to the plane. When I jumped, Bex's head went flying back into her seat.

"Ahh!" she gasped. She rubbed her head in a disoriented fashion trying to discover what it was that sent her head into the seat until finally her eyes settled on me. "Bloody hell," she spat at me, "Cams?"

"Sorry," I tried casting my eyes down. She cleared her throat questioningly and waited for me to continue. "Look," I whispered my voice taking a strange tone of authority, "this," I gestured around the plane, "is not the best place."

"We have a tail?" she questioned just above a whisper that I'm sure no one else could hear.

"Maybe," I nodded throwing my hair over my shoulder and replacing my hat onto my head.

I waited until Bex collected her things and threw her, or Macey's, bag over her shoulder. We filed out of the plane, Bex chatted away as I pretended to listen, nodding and smiling while searching the crowd for a flash of orange or a glint of blue. While looking, however, I saw something else, a small blonde head bobbing through the crowd. I followed her flailing arms and gasps of 'wait' all the way to another girl, a drop-dead gorgeous girl who had an air of confidence about her that could only come from being a member of a prestigious family name. I cut a glare to Bex who hadn't stopped her chatting and didn't see what I saw. Bex exclaimed that she needed to find a bathroom so the two of us headed down the terminal in that direction. As I walked I continued to look around the terminal. This time, however, I wasn't scanning, no I was just looking. I was in an airport, and not just any airport, the _John F. Kennedy International Airport_. This was a place where everyone looked out of place, a place where any person, or cover, could fit in easily, a place where a chameleon like me would love to play. In that moment I knew what had been true since I stepped off the plane, Bex had found me, yes, but only because I had put my faith in Zach. If I were to disappear again, who's to say she would have any chance? I looked over at my best friend in the entire world and knew what I was about to do would destroy her, but it was necessary. In the very moment that I was about to make my escape, however, I stiffened when Bex's arm slung around my shoulders.

"You know, I don't really want to use the loo here. Airports are the worst! I can wait," she smiled down at me, a knowing look in her eye and I knew she wasn't letting me go anywhere. I sighed and followed as she dragged the two of us towards the exit of the terminal. I subconsciously watched as people passed us by, half-heartedly looking for the two men who I knew were long gone. I felt Bex stiffen around me and I looked up. Her eyes cut across the airport and back so quickly that I wasn't sure whether I had imagined it or not. I followed the path of her eyes to a small snack stand where the two girls whom I had momentarily forgotten about were standing flipping though some magazines. I looked around desperately for some way I could escape from Bex, but there was nothing I could do and I was going to kill her. I knew she wouldn't let me get away, but that didn't mean I was going to drag Macey and Liz into this. Those two were getting their butts back to Gallagher pronto. No one else was joining this stupid suicide mission. I decided the best way to deal with this was directly.

"No," I hissed at Bex. She either had no idea to what I was referring, or she pretended not to. "Macey and Liz," I trailed off nodding my head over to them. Her eyes widened slightly in shock, then narrowed in anger and glared at me.

"What about them?" she hissed, stopping in her tracks.

"They're not coming," I said calmly gathering my authoritative voice that I had been getting a lot of use out of lately.

"Of course they are," she said effortlessly, throwing a lock of hair over her shoulder and picking up her pace again.

I stopped and ducked out of her grasp. "No. They are not," I said fuming. "I don't even want you here!" After I said it I knew I would regret it. Bex didn't look hurt or angry, but I could tell that what I had said cut her. She turned back into the cold Bex who had been on the plane with me.

"You don't get a choice anymore," she hissed grabbing my wrist and yanking me forward. I tried to pull away from her, but it was useless, she was stronger than me. I could have called for help, but I didn't want to draw that kind of attention to myself, what with a terrorist group after me and all, plus there was no doubt in my mind that Bex could have easily fibbed her way out of it. With all of my options guaranteed to fail, I sighed as Bex led the way to where Macey and Liz were waiting.

When we made our over to the stand where Macey and Liz were, Liz dropped her _PopSci Monthly _and threw her arms around my neck, squeezing me with all her might which is _a lot_. "Liz," I squeaked out barley able to breathe.

"Oh, Cammie! We were so worried! When Zach told us…told us…well, we rushed here immediately!" she exclaimed cutting me off and squeezing me harder, something I didn't think to be possible. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

"Liz," Bex cut her off angrily. "Let her go," she commanded. "Now," she raised an eyebrow and growled when Liz didn't listen. This was enough to get Liz to let go, but I was free for all of half a second before Bex's strong hand locked back into place around my now bruised wrist. "Let's go," she pulled me forward.

"Where?" Macey stopped her by putting a hand gingerly on her shoulder. She had finally put her copy of _People_ back onto the rack and I could really see her. She still had dark circles under her eyes and her skin looked white, too white, in fact, almost translucent. Her beautiful long hair had been tied back carefully away from her face, because of this I saw how much thinner her face looked, her wrists too, I noticed, were much thinner than they used to be and looked almost brittle. The only thing that was still the same about my friend was the gleam in her eye, her determination.

"Home," I heard Bex answer as she continued to walk.

"No," I pulled away from Bex and just looked at her. "Do you think I have come this far to quit just because you tell me to?"

"Cams-" Bex started.

"No, don't 'Cams' me! I get that you guys have been worried, but this isn't about you, okay? This is about me for once! I need to find out what happened to my dad! I need to know! I will not let you take that away from me. I will," I stopped because even though I had been in a blind rage directed towards my friends, I was still looking over their shoulders, I was still glancing at the reflection on the window behind them, and that's when I saw it. It was just a flash of orange, but it was gone so fast that I knew it had only been a mistake, a quick second of error that I wasn't supposed to see. My mind kicked into overdrive as I pretended to laugh at something that no one had said and grabbed Liz and Macey around the shoulders, yelling at Bex to hurry up in a high pitched and, seemingly, happy tone. My friends didn't know what to make of this behavior and I was worried one of them might stop. "Guys, come on!" I smiled, pulling them along. They all fell into step beside me and I waited until we had cleared a group of school kids, all wearing matching red t-shirts that claimed they were members of the CIA 'Children In Action', until I whispered, "We have a tail," with a fake giggle and a head nod in the direction of the men who I had yet to take my eyes off.

Macey looked over and a broad smile took over her face, "Oh, my God! Cammie he's cute!" she exclaimed loudly, winking at me.

I smiled at her and all the girls laughed, Liz's laugh was a little more forced than the rest of ours and she looked a bit nervous, but other than that it was a good cover, for now. I pulled what looked like a typical cell phone out of my pocket and flipped it open. When I made a stop in Zimbabwe, I went to visit an old friend of my dad's to see if knew anything. I ended up staying with Uncle Luke, or Dr. Lucas Valle as most of the world may know him, for about two weeks. He had been working on an untraceable cell phone. The phone had some cool, but trivial, enhancements made to it, all courtesy of Uncle Luke. Some of my favorites were the expanded memory (25 GB), the heat sensitive camera, the radioactivity sensor, and the mp3 player. One of the more useful aspects of the phone was that it had one exact replica that could track the phone from anywhere in the world. Uncle Luke and I agree that this is the phones best, and most dangerous, feature. As long as the phone is in trustworthy hands, it can be very useful if a mission fails or if you're made. However, if the phone were to fall into the wrong hands the result would be disastrous. It just so happens that I knew exactly where the counterpart to my phone was, whether or not I could trust these hands, well I still wasn't sure, but we needed help. I quickly typed a message to the other phone.

_JFK. Come now. _

I sent the message and continued to guide my friends through the terminal, Macey had linked her arms with Bex's and mine, and my other arm slung back into place around Liz's shoulders. We walked slowly, not really going anywhere, and I continued to scan the terminal. I began to get anxious until I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I relinquished Liz from my tight grip and slid the phone out of my pocket.

_Terminal 3_

That was all the message said, but it was enough. I replaced the phone and grabbed Liz again, looking around for a sign, or some sort of indication as to which terminal this was. I finally found a sign over a large electronic board on the wall that listed the scheduled arrivals and departures of every plane in the terminal. Terminal 2. _Okay, we're close. _I thought to myself. I began to quicken my pace ever so slightly, but it didn't go unnoticed by Bex.

"What is it?"she asked glancing around.

"We need to get to the Terminal 3 pick-up exit."

"Why?" Liz questioned.

"Trust me."

"Why should we?" Macey stopped dead in her tracks, tightening her vise-like grip on me forcing me to do the same. "We trusted you and you left, we trusted you and you made us worry for months. Why would we trust you again?"

"Fine," I said roughly. I didn't let them know that her words hurt, which they did. I didn't let them that I was sorry, which I was. Most of all I didn't let them know how awful I felt about how broken they had become, which was a lot. No, instead I put on my mask and pretended not to care, something I was getting frighteningly remarkable at. "Then let me go and you can deal with the tail on your own. _I_ need to get out of here. So, I'm going. Feel free to do what you want, I don't care!" but I did, I cared so much that it hurt, and that was why I couldn't let them drag themselves into the mess that I had managed to create for myself.

**AN: ***PLEASE READ***Okay, I know this has taken me way too long to post and I'm sorry because I hate it when other authors do that, but here I am being a hypocrite, as per usual. Anyway, long story short I had some things going on that I really don't need to bore you with, so I won't. I had four main reasons for this note, so please bear with me.**

**To tell all of my lovely reads how sorry I am for the exaggerated delay**

**To thank all of you who have waited and are still reading, even this note**

**To let you know that I promise to never ever again post chapters with more than a month in between the posts**

**Finally, to beg every person that reads this to review, please, please! Tell me what you think of the story, yell at me for not posting sooner, give me ideas, whatever you want, I just would like to know that there are in fact people reading my story.**

**THANK YOU!**


	6. Chapter 6

"_Then let me go and you can deal with the tail on your own._ I_ need to get out of here. So, I'm going. Feel free to do what you want, I don't care!" but I did, I cared so much that it hurt, and that was why I couldn't let them drag themselves into the mess that I had managed to create for myself._

I let out a breath of air after my little speech and took a quick look at my friends. Macey's mouth was hanging open, agape, Liz looked like she was about to burst into tears, and Bex, who had long ago wiped all of her emotions off of her face, was just staring at me with an un-readable expression. I looked at my shoes and tried not to cry. I took another deep breath and turned on my heel away from them. I walked briskly through the terminal noticing that my friends were trying to keep up with me. I sighed and ducked into a small store towards the exit of the terminal, I walked to the back of the store and watched the entrance. After 48 seconds, Macey, Bex, and Liz walked by not giving the store a second glance. I blinked back some tears and pulled my phone out again.

_Terminal 2 instead. _

I knew he would be pissed that I changed it, but I was sure that Terminal 3 was where Macey, Bex, and Liz were headed. I left the store and made my way through the exit hallway. I passed by multiple signs telling me that I could no longer turn around, and that if I wanted to re-enter the terminal I would first have to go through security. I took a few deep breaths and tried not to think about the fact that I had just left my friends. Again. I felt the phone vibrate in my pocket and pulled it out. I bent my head to read the message and in the process, missed the family that was barreling towards the security entrance as I was finally making my way out of the terminal exit hallway. I snapped my head up, but not soon enough. A stray luggage being haphazardly towed behind a distracted eight-year-old connected with my midsection and sent me to my hands and knees on the sticky airport floor. The family continued on their way without taking a second glance in my direction. I chose that moment to mutter a very bad word under my breath, but if anyone heard it wouldn't have mattered because at that very moment a man with piercing blue eyes offered his hand to me while asking, "Why Cameron, darling, we must watch where we are going."

"Who are you?" I asked as I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet, my dad's journal began to slip from my pocket and I put a hand to my stomach to stop it.

"Now Cameron, honey," he smiled at me in a sickeningly sweet manor, "why ever would I tell you that?"

"Fine, what do you want from me?"

"Oh, there is nothing I want from you, dear, there is just something I have been sent to tell you," he stopped, I waited for him to continue with an eyebrow arched. I did not have time for this. He frowned at my lack of response. "Cameron, you have been warned, we have found you and you will not escape us again," he said harshly, his voice dropping volume.

"Who?"

He just smiled. "The Shadow has claimed you, so for today I leave you with this," he laid his hand on my waist and briefly brushed his lips over mine. "Until next time, _Cammie_," he whispered in my ear and I hid the frightening shivers it sent up my spine. He spun on his heel and walked away with a smile tugging at his lips.

I froze for a moment before remembering where I was going. I continued to head in the same direction that I had been going in before when I felt my phone, which was still in my hand, vibrate. I stopped and blinked looking down at the phone. I realized that I had forgotten about the first message I had received. I flipped the phone open and read as I walked.

_Fine._

I read the first one and let out a breath of relief, at least I was headed in the right direction. I then turned my attention to the second message.

_Where are you?_

That was strange, I wasn't running that late, it wasn't normal for him to be worried about me. I looked around and saw that I was almost at the exit, I didn't bother replying. I circled around the room a few times ducking in and out of crowds, claiming baggage from the rotating wheel just to put it back after a few seconds. It seemed as if I was tail free, that was never a good sign. I walked out of the automatic doors slowly and blinked a few times when the blast of cold air rushing into the building hit me with its full force. I looked around and saw a familiar figure casually leaning against the cement wall of the building. I walked over to him and leaned on the wall next to him. He looked down at me through his expensive, most likely stolen, sunglasses.

"You didn't get it. Did you? I knew I should have gone instead," he said, lazily throwing his arm over my shoulder. He sighed, "It's alright, babe, let's get going before your little tale sees us," he whispered in my ear.

"What tail?" I fumed.

"That one," he smiled, nodding his head in the direction of the shuttle bus stop.

I looked up and saw Macey and Bex standing there casually, searching the crowd for me. "Shit," I muttered.

He sighed, "Can't even lose a simple tail," he mumbled to himself.

"Shut up," I hissed angrily.

"I thought you were the daughter of the infamous Matt Morgan, but you can't even shake a couple of teenage girls," he shook his head laughing. He leaned down to whisper, "I thought Daddy would have taught you better." It took all of my energy to not punch him in the face. I wanted to, trust me, I've wanted to for a very, very long time. However, at that moment in time, my best friends were only a couple hundred feet away from me and I couldn't afford to draw that kind of attention to myself. I felt the hand drop from my shoulders to my waist and my companion's husky voice once again whispered in my ear, "Don't cry baby, let me clean up your mess," he said in a taunting voice. I gritted my teeth, I really didn't care about the attention anymore, he was about to get punched. I clenched my fist the way _Daddy_ had taught me and was about to let out all my anger onto his pretty little face when he jerked me violently away from the spot we had been standing in.

We began walking straight towards the bus stop where at that moment Macey was trying to calmly read her copy of _Us Weekly _and Bex was quite obviously fuming and searching the crowd for me. I tried to stop our forward progress but I wasn't strong enough to stop him. He looked down at me and frowned, obviously not happy that I would question his judgment. He tightened his grip on my waist, digging his nails into my side. I bit my tongue to stop the whimper from escaping my mouth that would only satisfy him. He didn't release his strong hold on me until I let my feet continue to move in the direction he had been going. There was now a bus waiting at the station collecting passengers and their numerous bags, as we approached the doors began to close and I shrunk as far into the boy next to me trying desperately to hide. The bus' engine began to purr and I knew the bus was about to leave, where I was being dragged I had no idea. I almost screamed when I heard the boy next to me begin to yell. "Wait!" he called. "Someone, please stop the bus!" What was he doing? Some people were looking at us, others didn't spare us a glance. As it turns out, Macey, Bex, and now, Liz were a part of the group that could care less if two young travelers were about to miss their bus. Someone must have told the bus driver and he stopped, opening the doors that led to my escape. As we boarded the bus we both thanked the bus driver and sat in the first two available seats. I was squashed into the window and watched as Bex continued to scour the crowd for me.

I began to relax, that is until I looked to her right and saw a shocked Macey following Liz's shaking finger which was leading her eyes to my face in the dirty bus window. I gasped and tried to look away as Macey sprinted for the bus doors, but she was too late, the bus had pulled away from her. I looked over my shoulder and studied her unreadable face until I felt an arm snaked around my waist. I snapped my head around to glare at the boy whose head was leaning back looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. "Get off me!" I snapped bitterly at him.

"Oh, kitten broke out the claws, eh?" he teased quietly, pulling me closer to him.

"I'm not kidding! Get off, or else—"

"Or else what, babe?" he cut me off.

"Spencer," I warned.

He didn't seem to care about my anger and continued to tighten his grip on me. "What are you going to do about it?" he asked. Before I could answer he continued, "Besides, you are in no position to be making orders, I believe I was the one to get us out of there. I was the one to save your sorry ass. You should be taking my orders," he purred, running the hand he had around me up and down my side.

I snorted and tried to ignore the hand roaming up and down my body. "Fat chance, _babe_," I spat at him.

"You're impossible," he growled angrily and harshly ripped his arm from my side. The bus made a stop and I felt Spencer pull me out of my seat by my wrist. "Let's go," he said. I sighed and followed him obediently knowing there was nothing I could do until we were out of there. We spent the next two hours getting on and off different buses, walking into the airport just to walk out another door a few minutes later, going in and out of gift shops and restaurants scattered all over the airport, and jumping in and out of various crowds and groups of people until, finally, Spencer deemed it safe to leave.

When he finally led me to what was apparently his car I was eager to get in and leave the airport. I saw a small black car and made a bee line for the passenger side door. I was about to tear the door open when I heard Spencer's voice call me. "Oh Kitten, that isn't my car." I whirled around in confusion and I gasped when I saw him pull out a set of keys and slide smoothly into a flashy yellow sports car.

"Are you serious?" I demanded of him. Was he serious? This was about as far from inconspicuous as one could get!

"Completely, Kitten. Now, get in," he smiled while waiting for me to obey. I sighed and pulled the door open, plopping down into the seat. "Good girl," he praised sweetly. I pretended to gag and he laughed while turning the key in the ignition. "You know I love it when my Kitten plays hard to get," he purred as he trailed his fingers down my arm to put the car in drive. His touch sent a shiver down my spine and I put as much distance in between the two of us that the car would allow. He glared at this as he pulled the car out of its parking spot in the parking garage.

We spent another hour driving around New York, seemingly aimlessly, just in case someone had actually been able to follow us all the way to our car. We finally arrived at the apartment that Spencer was staying in and I was trying my best not to fall asleep in the car. He stopped the car, cutting the engine, and pulled himself out of the car. I followed suit and looked up at the tall building that had become my home since I left Gallagher. I sighed thinking about how much I missed that school and about how I'd much rather be with my sisters than _Spencer_, but at that moment I really had no choice. I rolled my eyes when he threw his keys over my head to the waiting valet and harshly telling him to be careful with the car.

"Welcome home, babe," Spencer said walking past me into the building. I rolled my eyes again and followed him through the motion sensing doors. When I walked in I was greeted by the familiar smell of lavender air freshener and the bleach the building maintenance crew used to clean the floors. The door man nodded his head at me in greeting and the concierge waved at me with a friendly 'Welcome back'. I smiled at her and quickened my pace to catch up with Spencer who, I knew, would leave me if I didn't get to him before the elevator. "Do you have your key, Kitten?" he asked while pushing the button to call the elevator.

"Of course."

"Really? You didn't lose it during your adventures?"

"No," I snapped, pulling a key, hanging on a chain, out from under my sweatshirt.

"I've taught my little kitten well," he mocked, entering the now open elevator.

"Stop calling me that!" I yelled when the doors slammed shut.

"I don't think I will, _Kitten_," he said, putting his hands on my waist and pulling me towards him. He looked at me for another second before freeing half of my body in order to press the button labeled 37. Once that was taken care of he returned his attention to me.

"Would you get off me!" I demanded slamming my fists down onto his chest.

"Nah," he teased pushing me against the elevator wall, pinning my wrists down. "I think it's time you thank me," he whispered in my ear. I could feel his breath on my neck and I tried not to squirm. This was how Spencer was and if I squirmed it would only encourage him in the future. Ever since I met him he had been like this. I'd never been interested and as far as I was concerned I would _never_ be interested in that sexist ass hole. However, to be honest, it _was_ flattering that he was so obviously interested in me, even if it was just physically, and when I was in a better mood, it was fun to actually flirt with him, but I wasn't in a good mood, he had done a grandiose job of pissing me off.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; I didn't want to start a fight with him. I needed to talk to him when we finally made it up to the apartment. He seemed to notice that I was genuinely angry and his grip on my hands loosened enough for me to push him away from me. Finally the elevator dinged and the doors opened slowly, as soon as I had enough room, I slipped out if the small space and stormed down the hallway towards his apartment. I grabbed at my chain to get the key off, but pulled it to hard and it snapped from around my neck. _Fantastic_. I sighed and shoved the key into the door, ignoring Spencer's approach. I pushed the door open and pulled my key out of the key hole and added it to the rapidly growing collection of odds and ends in my sweatshirt pocket. I rushed to 'my' bedroom and tried to close the door, but Spencer was there, holding it open.

"Go away," I growled.

"What's wrong, Kitten?" he didn't seem genuinely concerned about the answer.

"You," I hissed, this time I succeeded in slamming the door. I turned the lock and ran over to the bed that had become mine. I finally let the tears fall from my eyes that had been threatening to fall all day. I don't know how long I was laying there crying, maybe an hour, maybe more. When I finally stopped crying I sniffled a few times and rolled onto my side looking out the window in my room. I hated it here, I hated the way Spencer treated me sometimes, and I hated the feeling that I'd let everyone down. I missed Gallagher, I missed my mom, my friends, and my _real_ home. I sighed and rolled over onto my back staring up at the white ceiling and I thought about Zach. I missed him too. I stayed there staring at the ceiling, wondering. Did he miss me? He sure seemed like he missed me earlier, but then why didn't he come after me himself? I rolled over and let another sob escape from within me, I missed Zach more than I ever thought I would.

**AN: Okay, so here it is Chapter 6, I know not much happened, but it had to be done. So three things: one, I know it seems a bit random, but I promise it will all make sense soon. Two, what do you guys think of Spencer? I really wanted to make sure he wasn't another Zach, they are two very different people, so let me know did I succeed in doing that? And three, REVIEW! Do you love it, hate it? Do you have any ideas for a plot twist? A new character? Anything, just hit the review button for me. DO IT! **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So this is very long overdue, but here it is at last, Chapter 7! Enjoy! :D **

_I missed Gallagher, I missed my mom, my friends, and my real home. I sighed and rolled over onto my back staring up at the white ceiling and I thought about Zach. I missed him too. I stayed there staring at the ceiling, wondering. Did he miss me? He sure seemed like he missed me earlier, but then why didn't he come after me himself? I rolled over and let another sob escape from within me, I missed Zach more than I ever thought I would._

I woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee invading the air of my bedroom. I opened my eyes slowly and rolled onto my side looking out the window. The sun was low in the sky and there was already bustling traffic on the city streets below, men and women making their way to work, and small businesses opening up their doors for the upcoming breakfast rush. My internal clock told me it must have been about six am. I groggily rolled out of bed, not bothering to organize the sheets into some form of a made bed. I brushed my hair behind my ears and padded out of my room into the kitchen. I saw Spencer sitting at the granite topped island sipping a cup of coffee. I walked further into the kitchen and pulled a mug out of the cabinet above the sink. I poured my own cup of coffee and sat down at the table to drink it. I made a face at my coffee, I never drink it black, but I couldn't be bothered to get up and mix in some milk and sugar.

I looked at Spencer out of the corner of my eye. His gaze was down at the table and he made no sign that he even noticed my entrance, but I know he did. The two of us continued to drink our coffee in silence. I was fine sitting there not talking for two reasons. One: to be honest, my thoughts, or conversation, were never coherent this early in the morning, and two: I really did not want to hear anything Spencer had to say. So for those reasons I was completely content sitting there drinking my coffee without any sort of conversation, but apparently Spencer would only be silent for six minutes.

"So, how did my little kitten sleep?" he asked quietly.

I rolled my eyes before answering, "Fine."

He nodded and pushed his chair out, walking over to the sink. He placed his cup down into the silver basin of the clean kitchen sink and turned around to look at me, leaning on the counter behind him. I didn't bother to look up, but continued slowly sipping my coffee trying to refrain from making a face of disgust as I swallowed. Clearing I wasn't fooling Spencer who chuckled and pulled the creamer out of the fridge and the sugar off the counter placing them in front of me. I gave him a half smile in thanks and ducked my head down again to make my coffee drinkable. He continued watching me from the counter, not saying anything. I sighed and looked up at him.

"What?" I finally asked.

"Nothing," he almost whispered. I raised an eyebrow at him and he shook his head. "Will you be okay if I go out today?"

"Where ya' going?" I asked not expecting an answer.

"That's classified," he said with enjoyment.

"'Kay, well see ya' later," I said moving towards the sink to place my mug in the same place he put his. He didn't move out of the way so I had to push past him to put the mug in the near empty sink. I sent a glare his way, knowing that he was trying to be difficult. He looked at me one final time before turning on his heel and walking away. "Bye!" I tried, but he didn't turn around, he didn't stop, he didn't even slow his pace or miss a step. If it hadn't been for the fact that I knew he heard me I might have thought he didn't. I rolled my eyes and watched him go.

After a few more seconds the door slammed closed behind him and I knew I was alone. I stared at the two cups in the sink for a while before finally deciding to wash them. I sighed as I turned the tap on and rinsed the two coffee mugs under the warm water before dousing them with dish soap and scrubbing them down with the yellow sponge that was sitting by the sink. Once I was satisfied with my cleaning job I squeezed all of the suds out of the sponge and replaced it to its place next to the sink. Next I rinsed all of the soap residue out of the mugs and turned the faucet off. I grabbed the dish rag, which I knew was under the sink, and began to dry both cups. I threw the rag back under the sink and placed the cups back into the cabinet. Once I was done I turned around and swept my gaze across the kitchen. _What to do now?_ I thought to myself. I sighed as I walked to the front door. At least Spencer had left it locked. I continued around the flat trying all the windows and making sure they were all locked securely before I allowed myself to relax. Being on the run had made me paranoid, I never felt safe anymore.

Once I was sure of my safety, for the time being, I made my way back to my room and over to the nightstand. I sat on the bed facing the window and opened the small drawer of the nightstand, pulling my father's journal out. I looked down at it and made sure to keep a ginger hold on it. Even though I knew better it seemed fragile. I sighed and put the book down in my lap, looking out the window of my bed room. I looked over my shoulder into the kitchen of the flat and knew that I had a good amount of time before Spencer would return. Slowly I got up from my bed and walked out of the room into the kitchen. I sat at the island where not long ago Spencer and I had been sitting drinking our coffee.

I placed the book onto the counter top and just stared at it for a while. I had already read everything that the book contained numerous times over. I had read it cover to cover the very first time I opened it with my roommates after we had stolen it from the Subs. I tried to will myself to open the book and read the foreign code that was very probably fabricated by my father. The code that I had since learned and was proficient in. The code that I would now have no trouble reading or writing in for that matter. After what seemed like hours, and may very well have been, I cracked open the book to the first page and read the all too familiar words. I read, for what must have been the hundredth time, of how my father discovered that Mr. Solomon was an agent of the Circle and of how the two tried to bring them down. I continued to read the coded words that I had all but memorized by now. I felt a tear threaten to fall when I saw that the handwriting had changed from my father's to Mr. Solomon's. I stopped when I read the last entry. _'He's gone.'_ And he had been, gone that is. Gone to who knows where. That is what I needed to figure out no matter what. If this journal could help me then I would read it a hundred more times. I would do whatever it would take to find out what happened to him.

I don't know how long I sat there flipping through the pages in search of something, anything, which I hadn't already seen. I don't know at what point I stopped searching and became lost in my thoughts. I thought about my father and Mr. Solomon, two men who had once been the best of friends; two men who trusted each other without hesitation, something that was beyond rare in this line of work. I thought of my friends, of course I trusted them, but could they ever be hiding something like this? I thought of Zach. Did I trust him? I knew I couldn't, his mother held a high position in the Circle, he went to a school that trained its pupils to kill, so why did it hurt me so much that I knew I couldn't trust him? Why did I want to so bad?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear the door open. I didn't hear Spencer walk into the flat and eventually into the kitchen. I didn't notice him look at me and approach my statue like figure. Later I would try to figure out how the spy in me could have missed all of these very important signs that I was no longer alone. What kind of spy tuned something as important as that out? Alas, I would never be able to come up with an answer instead I would hang my head in shame and attempt to change the subject.

I was still thinking about the Circle, my father, Mr. Solomon, and Zach when I felt hands on my waist and heard someone taking a breath in my ear. Without thinking I turned and aimed my first where the intruder's head should have been, but they dodged out of the way before I could make contact.

"Whoa, kitten got her claws out," Spencer laughed just after my fist barely missed his face. I rolled my eyes and threw another punch at him out of annoyance, but he caught it easily in his palm and held onto it. I tried to pull my hand free, but he would have none of that. He twisted my wrist around, forcing my body into his. He kept hold of my fist which left his arm wrapped around my chest while his other hand held onto my waist. "Now, now kitten. We wouldn't want to do anything rash would we?" He whispered, I could feel his lips curving into a smile next to my ear.

That was it; I had had enough with Spencer. I stomped on his foot with my heel and elbowed him in the ribs with my free arm simultaneously. He groaned in pain and it was only enough for him to loosen his grip on my fist momentarily, which was all I needed. I swung the already clenched fist around and it connected with his shoulder. Once he had completely let go of me I executed a text book roundhouse kick which sent him to the floor where he lay sprawled. I looked down at him and smirked. "I hope I didn't hurt you too bad, _babe_," I said with a sneer when he opened his eyes. I returned to my seat at the island and continued my long forgotten task of flipping through my dad's journal.

"Dammit, Cammie!" Spencer hissed as he eased his way into the seat next to me.

"You've been asking for it," I said without looking up from the book.

Spencer grunted in response and looked down at the book I had on the table in front of me. "What's that?" he asked.

"What I went to get," I replied bitterly.

When I made no motion to show him the book he stood up and hovered behind me trying to read over my shoulder. "I hope you have the code," he challenged.

"It's not a code, it's a language, and yes. I know it," I replied without moving my glance from the pages I was reading, again.

"Oh, do you now?" I just nodded in response. "Care to share?"

"Not really," I said in a bored tone.

"Excuse me?" he asked clearly not expecting my answer.

"You heard me," I smiled to myself having the upper hand, still not turning around to look at him.

"I don't think I heard you right," he whispered in my ear sending an unexplainable shiver down my spine. I chose to ignore him and try to continue my reading, but at this point none of the words were actually making sense in my mind. "Cammie," he continued to whisper, "tell me." I shook my head and continued my pretend reading, at this point I was just being stubborn. "Cammie," he whispered again, but before I could answer I was being ripped from my chair and pushed into the counter. "I don't like it when people withhold information from me," he hissed in my face while pressing his whole body into mine and keeping me in place with his hands on my waist.

"Spencer," I tried to push him off of me but he wouldn't budge. I groaned and pounded my fists onto his chest in frustration. "Spencer, get off of me!"

"Teach me the language," he replied simply, pressing his body closer to mine.

"Fine!" I yelled. "Fine! Now get off me!"

"Nah, not yet," he smirked down at me.

"Spencer! I…" but I stopped because at that moment Spencer started laughing. "What?" I demanded.

"You're hysterical when you get mad," he continued laughing as I finally succeeded in shoving him away from me.

"Glad I could entertain you. Now here," I shoved the paper which I had been keeping in my pocket that pretty much served as the key to my father's language into Spencer's hands, "we'll talk about the book again once you learn that," after that I turned and walked back to my room.

I sat in my room and waited. It didn't take him long, not that I expected it to. Languages were kind of Spencer's thing. He picked them up fast and in this case that was a good thing. He entered my room without a knock and plopped down into my bed, lounging in it without a care.

"Okay, got the language down, now why is it so important?"

"This is my father's journal," I held up the small book, "and in here, somewhere, we will find our next step. In here there is something the Circle wants, which is what we need to find."

Spencer nodded as I sat at the foot of my bed and tossed the journal to him. He cracked it open and began to read. This started the process that we followed for the next week. We would wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee and begin working through the journal. As the day went on we would search phrases and words and cross reference them twenty times over. We tried to read in between the lines and made any connections possible. We took extensive notes only to realize that they were off, so we tore them up and started again. We continued the same thing day in and day out until, after a week had passed, I finally cracked.

"I can't do this anymore!" I yelled. "We should have found something by now. There should be some kind of clue in here! What are we supposed to be looking for? How is this supposed to help me?"

"Cammie, calm down."

"I can't I went all the way back to Gallagher, risked my friends' lives, and had to deal with Zach! All for nothing! Nothing!" I yelled.

"What?" Spencer asked, confused.

I looked and him and took a deep breath. "Nothing," I mumbled. "I'm going to sleep," I stood up from the kitchen counter and took the journal with me. I stormed into my room and paused in the doorway. I was so angry. I was angry at my dad for not making things more clear in his journal. I was angry at Mr. Solomon for leaving me when I really could have used his help. Most of all, I was angry at myself for not being able to figure this out. I was supposed to be a good spy, or as good as one could be who was still in training. What was I missing? I was so overcome with rage that I threw the journal at the far wall with all of my force. The book hit the wall hard and fell to the floor, I heard the binding crack, but I didn't care. I was too angry to care. I stood there for a moment longer and took a deep breath then I looked over to where the book had fallen on the floor. I rushed over to the book and nearly cried when I saw that the binding was in fact broken. Even though I was angry beyond belief, these were some of the last things my father would ever say to me, I didn't want them destroyed. I looked down at the book and tried to see if I would be able to fix the binding.

That's when I saw it. The book had been bound twice. There was deep blue leather binding underneath the brown one that I had become accustomed to. I began to peel back the brown cover slightly and saw that there was a note card wedged in between the two bindings. I carefully extracted the white note card and saw Mr. Solomon's writing scrawled clearly across the middle of the card. It was an address. I looked down on it with excitement. An address! This was our next step! This was where we needed to go next. I sprang up from my spot on the floor and ran through the flat bursting into Spencer's room. He was standing by his bed when I hopped onto the bed myself and nearly yelled.

"I found our next step!"

**AN: Okay so I hope you all enjoyed this Chapter! I'm so glad it's finally up. So review and let me know what you guys think. I will say, I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter and that made me very disappointed. So please review! :D**


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